Modern high speed sophisticated looms induce bending stresses in the conventional long reed spanning the lay beam of the loom, as a result of which stresses the reed may not remain straight during the operation of the loom, thereby causing serious problems.
The objective of the present invention is to solve this problem of reed bending in high speed looms by strengthening the top extrusion cap of the reed to better resist bending without adding additional weight to the top extrusion cap. As a result of the strengthening of the top extrusion cap of the reed without the addition of weight to the cap, inertia forces acting on the top extrusion cap in high speed looms are not increased and therefore the problem of bending is effectively solved.
In accordance with the present invention, the top extrusion cap of the reed is formed of aluminum to minimize weight and the cap is shortened in the direction extending radially of the lay beam rocker shaft and lay swords. To compensate for this shortening of the top extrusion cap, longitudinal stiffening ribs are provided along the opposite side walls of the top extrusion cap which effectively resist bending of the cap and reed without adding additional weight to the structure.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art during the course of the following detailed description.